Alibaba signs deal with co-working space venture CoWrks for 30 seats

BENGALURU: Chinese ecommerce major Alibaba has rented 30 seats in a flexible office in Bengaluru as it seeks to set up presence in the startup capital of India.

The company has signed the deal for the dedicated seats or private studios with co-working community venture CoWrks that is owned by RMZ, which is one of the largest commercial real estate developers in the country.

“The company has opted for a dedicated seat and has teams including admin, HR and operations working out of CoWrks in RMZ infinity in Bengaluru,” said a person having direct knowledge of the deal. “Alibaba will be paying Rs 20,000 per desk per month.” RMZ Infinity is a 400-seat dedicated flexible office space on Old Madras Road in Bengaluru.

While refusing to comment on the Alibaba deal, Sidharth Menda, CEO at CoWrks, said a lot of corporates have been rethinking their real estate strategy to now include working out of CoWrks.

“This is due to the opportunity to work alongside a highly engaged and entrepreneurial community, which directly improves productivity. Employees prefer to hang out in the office till much later with like-minded people,” he said.

Alibaba has been trying to up its presence in India as it looks to take on Amazon and home-grown etailer Flipkart in India’s highly competitive ecommerce market.

Last year, it had opened its first dedicated office in Mumbai. The company had taken on lease 2,200 sq ft at Paltina Bandra-Kurla Complex, which is owned by Wadhwa Group. It is paying Rs 275 per sq ft a month as rent.

“India is an important emerging market with great potential and we are absolutely committed to developing this market for the long term,” an Alibaba spokesperson said. “However, we do not, in principle, discuss rumours about our business plans in the media.”

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